Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. Well, blow me down! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Begad! It was only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. They are gettin' harder t' find. Avast, me proud beauty! This be t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, arrr, a long motor tube, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Avast! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Well, blow me down! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. Aye aye! It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Arrr! It also has an engine hook.

These were t' typical Estes directions, very easy t' follow. T' rocket is very easy t' put together, arrr, it is a level 2 kit. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Ahoy! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, me bucko, and then glued them together. Arrr! Blimey! It be a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Avast! Blimey! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, as I plan t' have it for a long time. I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, me bucko, me hearties, as well as t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, matey, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, me bucko, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Begad! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Also, me hearties, me hearties, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Begad! Blimey! Oh, and it is OOP by t' way, matey, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. I guess I needed nose weight. Avast! Also, me hearties, had a very small zipper. Aye aye! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, matey, works great. T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. Ya scallywag! I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, it is one o' me all-time favorites. It looks real good, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. It also is nay a kit you see everyday, so it gets noticed. T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5